Sanitary and protective covering for shoes



Aug. 27, 1968 SANITARY H. ZIMMON AND PROTECTIVE COVERING FOR SHOES FiledOct. 24, 1966 FIG. 4.

INVENTOR. HA ROL D MMON ATTORNEY United States Patent SANITARY ANDPROTECTIVE COVERIN FOR SHOES Harold Zimmon, Belmont, Calif., assignor toZimmon &. Company, Inc., Belmont, Calif., a corporation of CaliforniaContinuation-impart of application Ser. No. 404,310,

Oct. 16, 1964. This application Oct. 24, 1966, Ser.

6 Claims. (Cl. 317- 2) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sanitary andprotective covering for street shoesfor use in surgeries, and the, like,is formed of paper-like material in two halves, each shaped in theoutline of a shoe in side elevation, and i joined together along thebottom and front but open at the top and back. A rubber band is attachedto the covering about at the instep. In use, the shoe is inserted in thecovering. The rear edges of the halves are folded around the back toconform the covering to a wide range of shoe sizes. The rubber band isstretched down around the front of the toe, under the sole and behindthe back of the shOe to hold the covering in place.

This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 404,310, filedOct. 16, 1964.

This invention relates to a new and improved sanitary and protectivecovering for shoes.

Shoe coverings of the type of the present invention have particularapplication in sterile rooms in hospitals, commonly known as burn rooms,and satisfy needs in such establishments for covering the shoes ofattendants to prevent dust on the shoes from contaminating theatmosphere in the room. The invention has further application in areasrequiring patient isolation to prevent contamination of shoes and crosscontamination of patients.

Shoe coverings also are used in cast rooms where plaster of Paris castsare applied and where table drippings are likely to fall upon the shoesof the doctors and attendants and permanently harm the same.

By the addition of a strip of conductive material, or by impregnatingall or a part of the covering with a conductive substance, the presentshoe covering may be used in hospital surgeries or in otherestablishments where static electricity creates a hazard. The conductivecovering discharges static electricity which might tend to build up inthe body of the attendant and thus prevents explosions of anestheticsand other hazardous substances.

Shoe coverings of the type of this invention may further be used in anycommercial establishment such as by show window dressers who commonlyremove their shoes in order to prevent floor dust from detracting fromthe appearance of the carpeting in show windows.

A particular feature and advantage of the present invention is itsadaptability over a wide range of shoe sizes while still fitting snuglyand neatly around the shoe. Accordingly, the inventory of coveringswhich must be stocked is reduced.

Heretofore, most shoe coverings have been of a slipper, shoe or bootshape formed with more or less conventional heels and toes. The presentinvention is not conventional in the formation of the heel and thissimplifies the manufacture and makes the device much less expensive andmore versatile in application.

A further advantage of the invention is that it is so constructed thatit can be conveniently applied over street shoes with little time oreffort consumed. Little or no skill or practice is required in order toenable the user to apply the device and fasten the same on the shoe.

3,399,329 Patented Aug. 27, 1 968 ice A feature of this invention is theprovision of a rubber band attachd to the cover at about the instep. Thecover ing is applied by inserting the toeof the street shoe until itcontacts the toe portion of the covering. The back of the covering atthis stage is open and extends beyond the rear of the shoe. The back ofthe side edges of the covering are then folded inward to completelyenclose the back of the shoe. To complete installation the rubber bandis stretched down below the sole and around the back of the ankle andthus it holds the folded back edges neatly in place. 3

Another feature of the invention is the low cost of fabrication. Thematerial of which the covering is made may be cut with standarddie-cutting machines or fabriccutting machines. Further, the device maybe assembled with the use of standard commercial sewing machines.

Other objects of the present invention Will become apparent upon readingthe following specification and referring to the accompanying drawingsin which similar characters of reference represent corresponding partsin each of the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the covering showing it fiat.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation showing the covering to a shoe.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the structure of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing a means for securing therubber band to the covering.

The present invention provides a wrapping of a sanitary or anon-contaminating nature of simple and inexpensive construction. Thebody of the device may be formed of a wide variety of materials.Non-woven materials such as paper or yarn-reinforced cellulose materialsand non-woven fabrics are particularly suitable for the presentinvention by reason of their low costs. Such materials may be receivedfrom the manufacturer in webs or rolls of extended widths and lengthsfrom which a plurality of lengths may be cut with economy of material.Cloth, such as light canvas, muslin or almost any fabric may be used.Similarly, plastic may be used, depending upon the end use of thecovering.

In some forms of the invention hereinafter described in detail, it isdesirable to ground the wearer to the floor and for such purpose theentire device may be formed of a conductive material, as by impregnatingwith a conductive substance such as a suspension containing graphite.Alternatively, spots of conductive substance may be printed or otherwiseapplied to specific locations on the body blank, the remainder of thebody being left nonconductive. Alternatively, and particularly as shownin the accompanying drawings, a conductive strip is sewn, glued,stapled, or otherwise attached to the covering and is formed of aconductive material. A preferred conductive material is a conductivepolyolefin of the thickness of two or three mils, one such product beingknown as Valostat manufactured by Custom Materials, Inc. of Chelmsford,Mass. Aluminum foil tape is also suitable for such purpose.

The invention uses two body blank members 21L, 21R, each being a flatpiece of material of the type heretofore described. The two halves aresimilar in shape. Each has a substantially horizontal straight bottomedge 22, a semi-circular front or toe edge 23, an upwardly rearwardlyslanted instep edge 24 disposed at an angle of approximately 30 withrespect to the horizontal, a top edge 26 generally parallel to bottomedge 22 and spaced therefrom about 8" and of the length about two-thirdsthat of bottom edge 22 and a vertical back edge 27. The two halves ofthe body 21L, 21R may be stitched together by means of thread stitching30 which commences at the top of edge 24 and thence proceeds downwardlyparallel applied and spaced slightly inward of edges 23 and 22terminating at the rearward end of the blank. The rear edges 27 are notstitched and likewise the top edges 26 are not stitched.

A folded over or loop-like tab 36 is formed of the same material as body21 or of other suitable material and a rubber band 37 is caught in thetab 36. The open ends of tab 36 are inserted between the halves 21L and21R about midway of the length of instep edge 24 and attached to thecovering by the same stitching 30 which attaches the two halves of thecovering together. Tape may be used instead of the rubber band.

In a preferred use of the device a tape of conductive material 42 isapplied along the bottom edge of the covering and having an elongatedrearwardly extending tab 43. Tape 42 is stitched by the same stitching30 as joins the two halves together.

Directing attention to FIGS. 2 and 3, the use of the device isillustrated. The wearer inserts the toe of the street shoe through thetop edges 26 and back edge 27 until the toe engages the seam at thefront of toe portion 23. The back edges are folded inward behind theheel of the street shoe and overlapped, thereby completely enclosing theshoe. Rubber band 37 is then stretched down around the front of the toe,under the sole, and behind the back of the shoe behind the ankle.

The band 37 thus holds the covering snugly in place around the shoe sothat the shoe is completely covered and dust thereon will notcontaminate the atmosphere nor will anything in the room contact theshoes. Where the conductive tape 42 is used, the tab 43 may be tuckedover the top edge of the sock. In cases where socks are not worn, thetab 43 may be placed inside the shoe under the heel of the wearer where,by reason of body moisture, a grounding contact is established. In thismeans, the accumulation of static electricity in the body of the weareris grounded.

It will be seen that the device may be installed in either right or leftshoe and will accommodate a wide range of different shoe sizes.

What is claimed is: i

1. A sanitary and protective disposable covering for a street shoeformed of foldable material comprising a right half and a left half,each shaped in the outline of a shoe viewed from the side, said halvesseamed together along the bottom and front and open at the top and backfor insertion of said shoe, the rear edges of said halves foldablearound the back of said shoe to conform the length of said covering tosaid shoe, a rubber band, securing means securing said rubber band tosaid covering about at the instep, said rubber band adapted to extendaround the sides and behind the ankle of said street shoe to hold saidcovering in place smoothly conforming to the shape of said street shoe.

2. A covering according to claim 1 in which said securing means is aloop through said rubber band, said loop secured to said covering.

3. A covering according to claim 2 in which said loop is insertedbetween said halves through the front and attached to said covering bysaid stitching.

4. A covering according to claim 1 in which said halves compriseseparate pieces of material meeting along a longitudinal medial plane.

5. A coverin according to claim 1 in which at least a portion of saidcovering is electrically conductive to ground the wearer.

6. A covering according to claim 1 which further comprises a strip ofconductive material extending along at least a portion of the sole andhaving an extended tab protruding rearwardly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS MILTON O. HIRSHFIELD, PrimaryExaminer.

O J. A. SILVERMAN, Assistant Examiner.

